State

A former employee at Tesla’s Fremont factory filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the electric carmaker, alleging he was fired in retaliation after seeking protection from anti-gay harassment, The Guardian reported today. The defendant, an assembly line worker named Jorge Ferro, claims he was taunted for being gay and threatened with violence. “Watch your back,”(…)

A 21-year-old Newport Beach man charged with murder in the stabbing death of former high school classmate Blaze Bernstein will also face a hate crime sentencing enhancement, the Orange County district attorney announced Thursday. Orange County District Atty. Tony Rackauckas said prosecutors added the hate crime enhancement based on allegations that Samuel Woodward killed 19-year-old(…)

Three years prior to the Stonewall Riots of 1969, San Francisco experienced one of the earliest known acts of queer resistance against police oppression. The riot at Compton’s Cafeteria, as the 1972 program for Pride in San Francisco noted, took place “in the streets of the Tenderloin, at Turk and Taylor on a hot August(…)

Statewide, reported hate crimes jumped more than 17 percent in California last year compared with 2016, though the incidents remain relatively rare, the state’s attorney general said Monday. Alameda County saw the most reported hate crimes in 2017 of any of the nine counties that make up the Bay Area, according to new information released(…)

California is one of the largest states in the U.S. It’s also one of the most diverse, with life in many parts of the state varying vastly from the preconception of what it means to be a Californian. From the beaches of San Diego to the farmlands of Fresno to the suburbs of Humboldt, California(…)

A California student claims he’s a victim after losing his athletic scholarship for shouting homophobic slurs at civil rights protesters. Bronson Harmon attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo on a wrestling scholarship, which was rescinded after viral videos showed him using anti-LGBT slurs while marching with his father, reported The Tribune. “Saying(…)

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a law recognizing June as Pride Month in the state. Assembly Bill 2969 officially recognizes June as the month to celebrate LGBTQ culture and community. It was authored by out Assemblymember and chair of the California LGBT caucus Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley). “California has the largest LGBT population of any(…)

House minority leader and key opponent to Donald Trump Nancy Pelosi has clarified a quote in which she declared “I am LGBTQ,” leading to speculation about her sexuality. Pelosi is the most senior representative of the Democratic Party in Congress and a crucial figure in opposing Republican policies, including anti-LGBT legislature or attempts to block(…)

Gentrification and economic displacement are not mere abstractions for LGBTQ San Franciscans. We see the tangible effects daily on the places where we live, work and play. The loss of a neighborhood formed around our identities is devastating — not just for individuals but also for the extended families, institutions and events that form our(…)

The vice mayor of Dixon, California, is facing calls to step down after he proclaimed July as “Straight Pride American Month.” Ted Hickman declared July as a month to celebrate heterosexuals in a bizarre article on his personal blog, which was also published in local paper Independent Voice. His piece prompted recall efforts – a procedure when elected(…)